Charitable Giving

Yesterday morning, for the last day of class, I purchased two boxes of coffee from Starbucks complete with cups, cream, sugar, stirrers, and lids I had to ask for separately. My students were largely grateful but did not partake at the level I would have hoped. I was left with a full box of coffee after my two sections, and so I carried it up the hill to Behavioral Economics. I finished setting up the display a sensible six minutes before class began, and announced to my peers (are they my peers if I’m only auditing?) that they were welcome to help themselves. Alas, even after the final undergraduate left the room, a sizable amount of coffee remained. I could not find it in my heart to throw away the liquid gold that left a $37.87 plus $3 cash dent in my wallet (is that a good tip or a bad tip?). I walked the lukewarm remnants to the library’s graduate student lounge. I broke the studious silence with a friendly yet authoritative, “If anyone wants coffee, there’s some over here that needs to be had.” Their muted responses seemed to indicate that they knew this was, in fact, leftover coffee. Nevertheless, when I returned a mere hour later, the cups were gone and I poured the last drops into the mug I had been sipping all morning. I disposed of the scene without fanfare.

But that’s just who I am, always conducting my charitable work quietly, never asking for recognition, never shouting it as loud as I can from every mountaintop, for all to hear.